It is well known that for ruminants proper nutrition is essential for efficient and maximized milk production. If minimum requirements of proper nutrients including vitamins such as folic acid are not met, the animal will not produce milk at optimum yield, and its health will generally decline.
It has been reported that as much as 97% of the folic acid introduced into the diet of ruminants is controlled, or rather better put, consumed by the bacteria in the rumen, see J. Dairy Sci. 88:2043-2054. In fact, the problem is previously known and the real dilemma is to administer folic acid in a way that it can effectively by-pass the rumen, get into the small intestine and eventually increase the folic acid content in blood serum, which is then indicative of increased milk production, see Dietary Supplements of Folic Acid During Lactation: Effect on the Performance of Dairy Cows, 1998 J. Dairy Sci. 81:1412-1419.
In the past this problem has been recognized, and feed developers have used fats, carbohydrates and binders to encapsulate folic acid. This technology involves simple coating of materials in hopes that the coated material is rumen stable. But this has proved more difficult in application than in theory. A primary problem with any product relying upon coatings of any kind for rumen stability is that a coating can become abraded during handling and chewing, resulting in removal of the coating. Moreover, if the coating is too effective it is not effectively absorbed in the intestine either, and then the benefit to the animal is lost.
From the above description it can be seen that there is a real and continuing need for the development of folic acid fortified nutritional supplement that remains stable (will not be consumed by bacteria) in the rumen and yet when in the intestine will be absorbed into the blood serum in order to enhance blood serum levels of folic acid to enhance milk production and animal health. It is a primary objective of this invention to fulfill this need safely, effectively, efficiently and at low cost. The method and means of accomplishing this primary objective as well as others will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention which follows.